Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in older adults on chronic hemodialysis at Angol Hospital

Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in the general population as well as in patients undergoing chronic dialysis therapy, and it is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of this deficiency in older adults on chronic hemodialysis at Angol Hospital, Chile, through an observational, quantitative, cross-sectional study. Vitamin D levels were measured using chemiluminescence. In addition to collecting clinical histories, we assessed the presence of sarcopenia and measured body composition using bioimpedance. We found that female sex was associated with an odds ratio of 11.6 (95% CI: 1.59-129.3; p<0.001) for vitamin D deficiency, and that the Body Mass Index (BMI) was higher in the group of patients with vitamin D deficiency: 29.6 kg/m(2) +/- 4.5 compared to 26 kg/m(2) +/- 5.0 in the group without deficiency (p=0.02). Body composition measurements by bioimpedance showed that these patients had less lean mass, measured by the Lean Tissue Index (LTI): 10.24 +/- 2.6 kg/m(2) compared to 12.01 +/- 1.9 kg/m(2) (p=0.04), and higher fat content, measured by the Fat Tissue Index (FTI): 18.31 +/- 4.85 kg/m(2) compared to 13.32 +/- 5.7 kg/m(2) (p=0.01). Patients with vitamin D deficiency also had a larger abdominal circumference than those without deficiency: 101.6 +/- 9.5 cm compared to 88.1 +/- 19.3 cm (p=0.01). We conclude that the profile of patients with vitamin D deficiency may be related to the development of sarcopenic obesity, a phenomenon associated with the pro-inflammatory state characteristic of chronic kidney disease, which requires a multidimensional approach.